JVM

As you may know, I have a Mesa F-30. Before that though, I had an F-50 head + 112 cabinet that I used for a little while. I planned to sell it when I got it's smaller little brother, but then the economy went in the pooper and so I've kept it around until I find a good trade or til people have a little more money they're willing to spend. I've gotten some offers on it, but nothing worth what I think it's valued at.

Earlier today though, I found a guy looking to trade his Gibson '67 reissue flying V. I've been looking for a replacement to my strat, which I find doesn't have quite enough meat to the tone, plus I never use the tremolo. The guy says he loves Mesa and is interested in the trade.

What do you think? We haven't worked out details yet, but I feel like I might get a nice replacement for my strat, at the same time that I get rid of this amp I've been holding onto. Plus, if it turns out I don't like it that much after a while, I'd probably have an easier time selling a Gibson guitar than a discontinued Mesa amp. Maybe I am wrong though. But maybe this trade will also net me some cash value as well... many things to think about.

Recently my amp, a Mesa f-30 began having problems for the first time since I've owned it. Luckily I have a backup and I've been okay without it. I ordered a new set of tubes from Eurotubes (excited to try the JJs!) after a fair amount of reading which suggested it was probably a tube problem. I got an ECC81 for V1 by their suggestion, as I said I wanted a little more headroom on the clean channel and wouldn't mind having a little less gain on the second channel. Otherwise the standard kit they have.

Anyway, the point of this post is twofold: to share the news of my new tubes, which I have never changed before (maybe get a little assistance in the changing) and to describe the problem so that if the tubes are not the solution, we can figure it out.

The amp likes to make a really loud screeching sound at random times after turning the amp on, nothing seems to change it. Reverb off or on, volume high or low, FX send/return levels adjusted, whatever. Also the other day at band practice the amp didn't screech but instead just sounded farty and dead. Earlier today I took the tubes out, put them back in and played for a few minutes and then the screeching again. It sounded as normal for those few minutes though. Also one tube seems to be glowing a bit brighter than the others. Sounds like a tube problem eh?

One other thing. I really like the F-30, but I have plans to buy a matching probably 2x12 cab from mesa, take the speaker (V30) out of the combo and use the combo as a "head" on top of the cab. I'm pretty sure this will work, right? I hope to get a little more air moving, maybe mismatched speakers for a fuller tone (again, I don't know much about this stuff) and plus the whole rig will look bigger without me having to buy a new head. How's that sound?

I'm looking for a new guitar. I love my strat, but I don't think it's ideal for me. I really like the maple neck I have, but besides being maple the neck radius/scale length etc can be pretty much anything. In addition, I want some humbuckers, at least one in the bridge, because I am after a bit of a thicker sound. Lastly, I never use the tremolo, so a hardtail is for me I think.

Essentially, I'm looking for a maple neck hard tail guitar with humbuckers. Budget is open, but I'm aiming for under $2000, and hopefully closer to or even under $1000. Got any suggestions?

Considering:

Used PRS Swamp Ash Special (even used, they're expensive, but not totally out of range)Hardtail fat strat... having a hard time finding these with maple necks, and at the right price.I think I saw a music man, maybe a stiletto, hardtail with maple neck once. I don't know if they still make them.

I guess I'm not opposed to a maple neck telecaster with humbuckers, but I would prefer a double cutaway.

Ideally I would like to find a manufactured guitar with these specs, but if nothing comes up, I'm not totally opposed to building a custom guitar from f.ex Warmoth. But I'd rather not, the idea kind of scares me

I sent a PM to Kris and Maria but haven't gotten a reply yet, so I'm hoping someone up there will see this here The other day I load up the GMC homepage like every other day, but it says my subscription has expired. I don't know how this may have happened, as I've been continually subscribed for almost 3 years now. Its rather sudden, and I don't think I could continue subscribing to GMC at the new price. Could someone with the authority look into what may have happened?